


how to fail the game of life

by pandoracorn



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: (ofc) - Freeform, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Non-Despair AU, Rarepair, Rewrite, Soulmate AU, canon-divergent, hey did you think I forgot about Kuzuleon? haha u thought WRONG
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 20:02:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12638166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandoracorn/pseuds/pandoracorn
Summary: Step 1: Don't fall in love with the yakuzaStep 2: Fail step oneStep 3: Watch everything fall apart in your hands-Why the fuck did he get the short end of the stick in so many things?





	how to fail the game of life

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a rewrite of [this fic!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7172987)
> 
> I've been meaning to rewrite this one for some time, I think. And I think I'm gonna keep this as it is, which wasn't my original plan with this soulmate AU. But with 3000+ words of Leon introspection, rarepair pining and angst, I think this is good enough for the thirsty soul, no?
> 
> "soulmate au where instead of your soulmates first words to you written on your skin it’s their last words you ever hear them say so you don’t know who your soulmate is until you lose them"

Romance is not a thing a sports superstar should dance with. It was always a dangerous game, and if you weren't able to juggle work and play, then the media would hound down on you so mercilessly you wouldn’t be able to breathe. Leon Kuwata knew this better than anything, which is why his romances were so fleeting - so short and unmeaningful that, really, there was no point in initiating a spark in the first place. Did he just want something to brag about? Or maybe he was so touch starved, desperate and lonely that he needed something - anything - to ward away the doubts he was unloveable and-

 

God, how fucking emo was he anyway?

 

And besides that, there was another issue to be concerned with - apparently, some smart fucking jackass up in the sky thought it would be a great idea to add fate to Leon’s romantic dilemma… and in the most fucked up way, too. The last words some bullshit ‘soulmate’ says will be the last words you’d ever hear them say. His mom had told him when he was younger how his father left to marry another, much younger woman than she, telling her to go fuck herself right before he left… and alas, those words had been tattooed on the back of her neck since she had been born - the universe somehow knowing that her future husband and the father of her son would be a complete and total jackass.  His uncle got his wife’s last goodbye written on the inside of his finger, his cousin… well, she fucking romanticised the idea of a soulmate - kinda sick, in his opinion, but Kanon was the closest friend he had, so… he kept his mouth shut - and he… well, on the inside of his wrist, in printed letters. _“I need you too.”_ ...The fuck did that mean? This whole system was bullshit.

 

At first, when he started attending Hope’s Peak Academy, his interests were set on the idol. That quickly ended when she mentioned how taboo it was for idols to date - bullshit - and how she never liked him, or any other boy, in the first place. Fair enough. Next, the gambler - quickly shot down, too, because she was the scariest girl he’d ever met. The swimmer was a lesbian, the writer smelled like cat pee so no, the detective girl was honestly too cold even someone as fiery as he would have trouble heating her up - he even considered the lucky student boy for a time, but… being gay is almost as damaging to the common sportsman as not being able to spend equal time in love and on the field, and as much as he loved the little puppy dog boy, he wasn’t willing to risk his only time in the spotlight for him. Maybe some other time, though, and in another place, he would have done so in a heartbeat.

 

Then there was the case of the older class. And oh boy, were there a lot of pretty girls to fling with in there. So many, in fact, that it was almost hard to choose - a delicate princess, a timid and nervous nurse, a gymnast who could kill him with her thighs in seconds (he would let her without hesitation of course)... and an almost silent swordswoman who was like a swan… made of daggers. There was something about this girl, and the young, cute boy - wait, not cute. Dammit, what did he just say about being gay? Not good - she was always with, that always intrigued him.

 

That’s why he asked her about it.

 

One day, passing in the hallway. It should have been a normal, random encounter, but Leon decided to use it as an opportunity to ask her the questions he’d been dying to know the answers to.

“Pekoyama?” That was her name, right? Peko Pekoyama? He caught up with her as she stopped and turned around to face the call of her name.

“...Yes?”

“Sorry to be a bother, but, uh… could we have a chat? Leon Kuwata, an underclassman, by the way.” Talking to his senpai, and more importantly, a girl with a sword, meant he was a lot less casual than normal - back straight, annunciation almost perfect, a lot less slang in his language and a lot more respect in his tone… he normally only ever talked like this to his coaches. And he hated it.

“...” The girl checked her wrist, and clicked her tongue as she looked down the hallway for a moment, before bringing her gaze back to Leon. “Very well. I have someone waiting for me, however, so I advise you make this quick.”

“Oh, we can walk and talk! Besides…” He dared himself to wink and smile as his voice lowered to a whisper. “...it’s that very person I wanna speak with too.”

* * *

 It had been a few months now since that first encounter with his senpai, Pekoyama. And in the short time between then and the present, he’d learned a lot more than he had ever wanted, but had everything he’d ever longed for since he realised just how empty he was inside.

 

The Kuzuryuu clan - of course, he knew them by name, but the idea that the heir of the clan, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, was a) so short, and b) in the class above his - was one that, oddly, he’d been welcomed into with open arms. The mother was incredibly beautiful and comforting on normal days - slender, blonde and heavily freckled, caring for both of her children (yeah, Kuzuryuu had a little sister. Wild, right?) with such unconditional love that sometimes, he wished he had her as a mom. The father was honestly rather terrifying - the opposite of his son in the sense that he was tall and, uh… not a twink? Yeah, that was pretty accurate. Oh, and he had a beard. A really nice beard. That sister was nice, too - he learned her name was Natsumi Kuzuryuu, and, for whatever reason (probably that she was a teenage girl) was really interested in his eyeliner… one nail painting session later, and boom - he was friends with the yakuza’s daughter.

 

It was Kuzuryuu he was most concerned about, though. He’d told himself time and time again not the fall for someone shorter than him, but alas, here he was, catching his thoughts wandering and his face flushed at the thought of even holding his damn hand - real player moves there, huh? What the fuck was he supposed to do with these stupid feelings, huh? Not a damn thing. This was the yakuza he was talking about. ...Oh god, he’d fallen in love with the yakuza. Saying it out loud - or rather, out loud in his head - made him feel even more like an idiot. He hated it. What had he ever done to whatever force had put him on this damn earth to deserve this cruel treatment? Fuck fate, fuck the system, and most importantly, fuck his stupid, lonely ass for loving Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu as much as he did.

 

Though then again… behind the high defensiveness, the prickly nature and the short temper, Kuzuryuu was a genuinely nice guy. He loved his family so damn much, he was willing to do anything to keep them safe and happy, and at times, had even extended that to Leon, too. There was one time, in particular, Leon kept close to his heart. It was after a game, a game that went the same as usual - his team won, but of course, his teammates weren’t satisfied - things were said, insults were hurled in his direction, and Leon carried on his back the knowledge that, sometimes, success didn’t always equate to happiness.

“Hey… you OK?” Kuzuryuu asked, looking at Leon with an eyebrow raised as the two of them, plus Pekoyama and Natsumi, were sat at the small kotatsu in the main room of the (pretty open pan) Kuzuryuu house. “You’ve been quiet, and normally I can’t get you to shut your trap for more than two seconds.

“Oh, uh,” Normally, he was so good at hiding how much baseball worried him, and how much it made him feel like the worst guy in the world while somehow being the best, but today wasn’t his lucky day, it seemed like. Despite this though, he still flashed a grin, and lied through his teeth. “Yeah, man, it’s chill. Don’t worry about me!”

For a moment, Kuzuryuu’s worried glare was noticeable, before he huffed and finished off the green tea that Pekoyama had made for him before it got cold, almost slamming his cup down on the kotatsu as he stood to his feet again. “...’Right. Just know that we’re here for you, got it? We’re friends, I guess, so…”

“...You guess? Wow, dude, that’s so sincere.” He laughed at the yakuza heir got embarrassed rather quickly, barking profanities before storming off to his room, Leon deciding to shoot up and go after him, leaving his cup behind to be washed out and put away in a few hours time. But really, deep down, he did appreciate it. If anything, it’s all he ever wanted to hear… well, maybe there was more, but I love you’s were something he needed but shouldn’t really have, especially from him.

* * *

 Was it blind, puppy dog love that had led him to believe that this path would give him fairy tales and happy endings? Or was he just hoping that the yakuza would just fade away around him as he pursued his quest for companionship under the guise of love?

 

Everyone had warned him that, sometimes, it could get a bit dangerous on turf - and always, when there was sign of danger, and he was still on site, she was tucked away in a small cupboard in a spare room along with Natsumi to keep the two of them self - he, because he was technically a civilian, and Natsumi as she was the youngest child in the family. And though more often than not it was nothing more than a false alarm or a skirmish that was over in minutes, it never failed to leave a lump of fear in the back of his throat - for himself, for Pekoyama, who gave everything she had to the defence of the clan, and Kuzuryuu himself.

 

But never, never did he expect things to end this way.

 

Tucked away in the little cupboard again, he found himself staring through the small slits in the door, barely able to see the hallway through the late afternoon light slivering through the cracks. The younger sister was almost leaning against him, resting her head softly on his shoulder and gripping onto his arm as if he was some kind of pillar to lean on. Was she always this afraid? Oh god, how was she before they met, sitting alone, waiting for this all to be over? Leon looked down into his pocket, before quickly pulling out his phone, turning the brightness down as far as it would go to avoid detection. He unlocked it, opened his notes, and began typing a small message.

_‘You scared?’_

He passed the phone to her, and she pulled her arm through his, using two hands to type her reply just below.

_‘kinda. used 2 it now tho. glad ur here’_

He read the message as she typed, almost resting his cheek on the top of her head, regretting typing so formally when he saw her lack of capitalisation and texting slang - of course, even if she was the daughter of the yakuza, she was still a teenager. Who needs grammar anymore?

_‘Well i’m moreso glad you’re here. I’m shitting my pants rn’_

_‘lol dw, i gotchu >w<’ _

He leaned back slightly to look down at her face, barely able to see her soft smile, and he was almost able to hear her giggling in the back of his head, too - Natsumi, he’d learned, was a very smile-and-laugh kind of girl when she was in the comfort of those she trusted… and for whatever reason, she trusted him? How damn lucky could a guy get, getting on the good side of the yakuza? Her smile gave him the courage to return it in kind, and she tightened her grip on his arm, handing his phone back to him with a free hand so he could lock it and hide it away again.

* * *

 Bang bang.

 

At some point, the two of them must have fallen asleep - this was a longer turf war than usual, wasn’t it? Fucks sake - but the sound of gunshots close by startled them awake. Loud noises were something that Leon was not used to, aside from the screaming of crowds, so of course, his heart was in his throat and his grip on Natsumi was almost crushing.  
“I-I don’t think… that was good,” her voice was shaky, barely above a whisper and Leon had to strain his ears to hear it, despite the deadly silence that echoed in his ears and around the house after the gunshot ran out. Was it over? Had Kuzuryuu taken the shot. ...Had he killed someone?

 

A pause as he saw a body moving through the slits in the closet door. Tall, silver-haired and limping, the sword hanging limp in the muscular yet feminine arm that carried it, her clothes stained with blood - her own or someone else's? - and her forehead drenched in sweat from strain. Oh god, Pekoyama-  
She barely managed to pull the door open, her breathing both heavy and shallow somehow as she stared down at the two bodies in the closet with piercing red eyes, though they seemed to be dulled now, with pain and faintness. “The.. the master- he-”  
“Wait, wait. Kuzuryuu?” Leon cut her off, matching her volume which was somewhere between an indoor voice and a whisper, maybe just below. “What happened- Pekoyama, he-”  
“...I’m sorry… I hoped it wouldn’t get this bad-”  
He didn’t stop to hear her out. Pulling Natsumi to her feet as she stood up himself, he quickly shook her arm off of his before her grip would tighten again to stop him, and without stopping to keep her calm with a grin (it’s not like he could muster one anyway), he began to bolt to where he swore he could still hear the sound of the gunshot bouncing off of the walls-

 

Jacket off, pressed against his stomach, eyes barely open and a gun by his side… Kuzuryuu pressed himself up against the wall for support, blood seeping through the pinstripe he wore that day.  
“...Fuck-” The profanity was all he could choke out before he almost stumbled over his feet running over, quickly taking off his jacket to help blanket the gunshot wound - sure, it was white, but that didn't mean jack shit to Leon right now, unlike most times.

That seemed to wake him up a little. Kuzuryuu looked at Leon as he frantically tried to help, forcing a smile as blood dribbled down his chin. He was almost tempted to tell him to stop, but something told him that, even if he tried, nothing would work. “...Hey.”

Leon paused and looked up, seeing that strained smile made his chest feel tight and his stomach twist - dammit, could he cool his lovesick asshole heart for two fucking seconds?! “H-hey. Hey, you OK? You’re, uh,” his laughter was choked, nervous and shaking, and he didn't realise how scared he really was until that moment, “You’re lookin’ a little like a pincushion right now, dude.”

“Fuck off, s’nothin… just one- one hole… ‘can handle it.” He wafted an arm in dismissal, laughing along, his laugh more quiet and distant. “...Hey, you know what?”

“What? What is it, what-”

“We never… watched that stupid fuckin’ anime you said you liked.”

Leon blinked. Was he… trying to distract him so he wasn’t as panicked? Or was it a distraction of himself from the pain of his wounds? Either way, he knew that Kuzuryuu would not be happy with him if he didn’t buy into the illusion, so he bit his tongue of any objections to such an irrelevant topic and gulped them down. “Uh, which one? There’s, uh, a lot of ‘em.”

“Fuckin’ hell, uh… fuck, it was that, uh, that swimmin’ one-”

“Oh, Free!?”

“Yeeeeah, that bitch.”

Leon couldn’t help but smile - in the almost half a year he’d grown to know Kuzuryuu, it was no secret that the dude hated anime, while Leon himself liked it quite a lot, especially the sports ones… for no reason other than his interest in sports, of course, he lied to himself. “Hey, maybe we can watch it after you get better?”

“Nah dude, I’m done.”

“...What? What, no, you can’t-”

“It’s done, I’m done-”

“Stop bein’ overdramatic, dammit!” He didn’t mean to raise his voice, but the silence that followed his shouting plea told him that maybe he was… a little too passionate. “I just… can’t lose you, alright? You mean too much for that to happen.”

“...You sappy asshole.”

“...Wow, OK. You’re dying and this is the thanks I get? Thanks, you twinky bastard.”

Kuzuryuu laughed again, smiling almost genuinely, for what little energy he had. “Dude, you’ve got some shit on your cheeks there.”

Huh? Leon reached and rubbed the back of his fingers across the side of his face- Oh, OK. He was crying. Figures. He always cried when he was afraid. “...Sorry.”

“Oh fuck off, dude… s’chill.”

“I just… I need you here with me, Kuzuryuu.” It wasn’t attractive, not in the slightest, as fat, stupid lumps of water feel from his eyes as he looked at the jacket he was pressing against the other boy's stomach, trying to stop the bleeding at least a little bit. “I’ve found somethin’ I wanna keep with me forever and I can’t lose it now, or I’ll… I’ll…”

There was silence, as Leon found himself choking on his own words and Kuzuryuu couldn’t find the right words to say in his blood loss delirium for the moment. Instead, he moved his hand up, slowly, resting in on his stomach, right on top of Leon’s, causing him to look at the freckled face that seemed so calm despite his pain.

 

“Hey, Kuwata? I need… you too.”

 

No… no nononononononono no god no-

 

His pulse fell short, his chest stopped moving with breath, and the soft palm that touched the back of Leon’s hand began to slip off, if it had not been for Leon flipping his hand over and gripping it tightly as he bit his lip to the point he could feel it start to bleed, even, in an attempt to stop the tears that wouldn’t stop flowing.

 

“...Dammit, dude.” Leon’s laughter was shallow and heartless - was he laughing at himself, or the sorry situation he was in? “You were supposed to wait until after I’d said how much I loved you to die. What the fuck, have you ever seen a Western action film before? Geez...”

 

No matter whatever jokes he made, though, no matter how much he pretended to laugh to keep himself from screaming, the reality had set in that Kuzuryuu was meant to be his soulmate. What kind of fucked up world did they all live in.


End file.
